I play a lot of video games, but since I’m only one person, there are a few big titles I missed out on this year, namely, VGA game of the year award winner, Walking Dead: The Game and Borderlands 2 (I have played the first Episode of The Walking Dead: The Game though). As such, this list is not exhaustive. This list consists of titles I’ve either reviewed, or spent significant time playing this year.

Here are the best:

1. Halo 4

Cortana’s performance over the course of Halo 4 is breathtaking.

The Halo franchise catches a significant amount of flack, but 343 Industries’ first foray into the series, Halo 4, is the most polished and quite possibly the best game in the Halo series yet. It removes many of the complicated elements that made Halo: Reach and Halo 3 less fun than earlier entries in the series, and brings the franchise back to its roots.

Halo 4 is also probably the best looking console game around now and with a few minor gripes, plays almost flawlessly. Its emotional story, pacing and overall design are also all excellent. Check out my full review of the game. Halo 4 is an Xbox 360 exclusive title.

2. Far Cry 3

There are a lot of pirates on Rook Island.

For me, Far Cry 3 came out of nowhere this year. I hadn’t really been following its development and I wasn’t all that interested in the series after playing the minor disappointment that was Far Cry 2. This was a total mistake though. Far Cry 3 offers up an experience that is the most fun I’ve had with a video game in a really long time.

Sure, its plot is a little over the top and you will encounter the occasional graphical glitch, but when it comes to Far Cry 3, it’s the title’s open ended gameplay that makes the experience. Far Cry 3 is one of the first games that actually lets the player choose how they want to approach missions. Dishonored sort of did this to some extent, but overall, I really didn’t like the game very much, mainly because as soon as you get caught, the entire experience seems to fall apart.

Feel like completing a mission by setting a village on fire? You can do that. Maybe you’d rather approach a target by sea and pop out of the water? Well, you can do that to. Half the fun of Far Cry 3 is experimentation. For more information on Far Cry 3, check out my full review. Far Cry 3 is available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

3. Scribblenauts Unlimited

Scribblenauts Unlimited gives the player a level of creativity that I’ve never experienced before in a video game.

Scribblenauts Unlimted is the kind of game that won’t appeal to everyone; I had a great time with it though. For the uninitiated, Scribblenauts Unlimited basically lets the player type in any object they want in order to solve simple puzzles.

While the game’s missions are extremely simple, they aren’t really what makes the game fun in the first place anyway. Just like Far Cry 3, it’s experimentation and unrestricted imagination that makes Scribblenauts Unlimited such a great time.

Simply sitting back, creating items and watching how they interact in high definition on either your TV or the Wii U’s GamePad is a lot of fun. Have you ever wanted to create a pink giant flying car strapped with TNT? Well, Scribblenauts Unlimited lets you do this. And then fly it into a cockroach.

4. ZombiU

ZombiU is a flawed but terrifying, tension filled experience.

A lot of people will probably be a little confused about this choice because ZombiU is one of those rare polarizing titles. Gamers and reviewers alike seem to either love or hate its clunky repetitive, but still very terrifying, gameplay.

I’m still in the process of putting together my review, but from what I’ve played so far, ZombiU is a first-person throw back to classic survival horror titles like Resident Evil. Managing your inventory, peeking around every corner and plodding through the game’s various missions, is a truly frightening experience. Many of the title’s short comings, mainly how difficult it is to kill most zombies and the fact that choosing weapons on the Wii U’s GamePad is somewhat awkward, actually adds to the title’s overall tension.

In one instance, I took out a zombie I thought was completely alone. I examined its body and grabbed a few planks and a grenade from its rotting corpse. While I was doing this, a horde of flesh eating beasts snuck up on me. I only had a few seconds to think and I ran as fast as I could to the nearest room, nailed the door shut and quickly prepared for the oncoming assault of zombies. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my strategy together in time and they broke through the door, eating me for lunch shortly afterward.

My character, who I had just put at least two hours into upgrading and developing, was now permanently dead. I had to start all over again from the same point in the game’s story with a completely new player and attempt to take out a zombified version of my previous character to get my inventory back. This permanent death mode made me progress through ZombiU very carefully and actually reminded me a lot of Day Z.

What ZombiU lacks in story and graphics is completely made up by its haunting atmosphere and tension filled gameplay. It also makes excellent use of the Wii U’s unique GamePad controller. ZombiU is a Wii U exclusive title and is only available on Nintendo’s new console.

5. Mass Effect 3

Bioware took home the award for best RPG at the video game awards.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Mass Effect series. It’s just so easy to get lost in Bioware’s extremely detailed science fiction world. Ignoring the somewhat out-of-place ending, Mass Effect 3 perfects the formula Bioware has been developing since the first Mass Effect came out, in almost every way.

It’s gameplay, graphics, decision-making system and story are almost flawless. Getting emotionally involved in Mass Effect 3’s universe is what makes playing it such an engrossing experience and over the course of my time with the game, I actually found myself caring whether or not I saved or killed certain companions and enemies.

Mass Effect 3 is available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Wii U.